INTERIOR OF THE EARTH

PARTS OF THE EARTH

BOUNDARIES OF THE PARTS AND DEPTH

PARTS OF THE
EARTH

The Earth is divided into

four main layers:
Inner

Core
Outer Core
Mantle
Crust

THE CRUST

It is very thin compared to the other

three layers.
The crust is the thin layer of solid,
brittle material that covers the
Earth.
The crust makes up 1% of the Earth.
The crust of the Earth is broken into
many pieces called plates.
The material that makes up the
crust is called sial.

TWO TYPES OF
CRUST:
Continental
Oceanic

Crust

Crust

 Underlies

the
Continental crust
continents
Avg. rock density
about 2.7 g/cm3.
Avg. thickness 3540 km.
Felsic Composition
Avg. rock type
=Granite
Less dense; floats
higher.
DEPTH OF 0-75
KM

Underlies

the
Oceanic crust
ocean basins.
Density about
3.0 g/cm3.
Avg. thickness 710 km.
Mafic
composition
Avg. rock type =
Basalt/Gabbro
More dense:
floats lower.
DEPTH OF 0-10
KM

THE MANTLE
Is

the largest layer of the Earth.

is divided into two regions: the upper
and lower sections.
2,870 km thick between the crust
and the core.
high density, ultramafic silicate rock
which can flow when subjected to long
duration stresses.
The mantle is not molten!

LOWER MANTLE
OF 6502,890 KM
COMPOSED OF
SILICON,
MAGNESIUM AND
OXYGEN
PROBABLY
CONTAINS IRON,
CALCIUM AND
ALUMINUM

UPPER MANTLE

DEPTH

DEPTH OF 10-400 KM

SOLID FRAGMENTS OF THE

UPPER MANTLE HAVE BEEN
FOUND IN ERODED MOUNTAIN
BELTS AND VOLCANIC
ERUPTIONS

PART OF THE ASTHENOSPHERE

MIGHT BE PARTIALLY MOLTEN

 Seismic

wave velocities increase at depths of about 400

km and 700 km (about 250 mi and 430 mi). This finding
agrees closely with laboratory studies of changes in the
character of mantle materials that would occur at these
depths from increases in temperature and pressure.

700

km is the boundary between

the upper mantle and the lower
mantle.

No earthquakes occur in
the lower mantle.

OUTER CORE
The core of the Earth is like a
ball of very hot metals.
The outer core is liquid.
The outer core is made up of
iron and nickel and is very
dense.
Movement of the electrically
conductive
fluid in the outer
core generates the Earth's
magnetic field.
Responsible for the subtle

INNER CORE

The inner core of the Earth has

temperatures and pressures so
great that the metals are
squeezed together and are not
able to move.
It is the centre of the earth and
is the hottest part of the earth.
The inner core is a solid mass of
iron and nickel.
The temperature of the core is
around 5500C

BOUNDARIES
OF THE PARTS

Mohorovicic Discontinuity
MOHO
The

Mohorovii discontinuity or
Moho is the sharp boundary between
the crust and mantle.
Discovered in 1909 by Andrija
Mohorovicic.
Marked by a change in the velocity of
seismic P waves.
This is an area of increased velocity of
seismic waves as the material is denser
in the mantle (due to higher proportion
of ferromagnesium materials and the
crust is higher in silicates).

Asthenosphere.

A thin zone in the mantle that is from

130 to 160 km deep, where seismic
waves undergo a sharp decrease in
velocity.
This is a layer of hot, elastic semi-fluid
material that extends around the
entire Earth.

Lithosphere.

The solid, brittle rock that occurs just

above the asthenosphere
Includes the crust, the Moho, and the
upper part of the mantle.

Mesosphere.

Lithosphere
The brittle portion of Earths
interior.
Behaves as a non-flowing, rigid
material.
The material that moves as
tectonic plates.
Made of 2 components: crust and
upper mantle.

Asthenosphere
The ductile portion of Earths
interior.
Shallower under oceanic lithosphere.
Deeper under continental
lithosphere.
Flows as a soft ductile solid.
Contains a small percentage of melt
(< 2%)

Mesosphere
Brittle-ductile

transition region
Sometimes called fertile layer
contains calcium, aluminum and garnet
Dense when cold because of the garnet
It is buoyant when hot because these
minerals melt easily to form basalt which
can then rise through the upper layers as
magma.

Lithosphere

Plates and

Boundaries
Plate

tectonics states that the

lithosphere is broken into fairly rigid
plates that move on the asthenosphere.
Some plates contain part of a continent
and part of an ocean basin, while others
contain only ocean basins.
Earthquakes, volcanoes, and the most
rapid changes in the Earths crust occur
at these plate boundaries.

 The

major plates of the lithosphere that

move on the asthenosphere. Source: After

Three

kinds of plate boundaries that describe

how one plate moves relative to another.

Divergent boundaries.
Occur where two plates are
moving away from each other.
This forms a new crust zone,
where the magma flows as the
plates separate releasing the
pressure on them.
This forms new crust material

divergent boundary is a new crust zone where

molten magma from the asthenosphere rises, cools,
and adds new crust to the edges of the separating
plates. Magma that cools at deeper depths forms a
coarse-grained basalt, while surface lava cools to a
fine-grained basalt. Note that deposited sediment is
deeper farther from the spreading rift.

Convergent boundaries.
Occurs where two plates
are moving toward each
other.
Old crust is returned to
the asthenosphere where
the plates collide forming
a subduction zone.
The lithosphere of one
plate is subducted under

 Ocean-continent

plate convergence. This type of

plate boundary accounts for shallow and deepseated earthquakes, an oceanic trench, volcanic
activity, and mountains along the coast.

 Ocean-ocean

plate convergence. This type of

plate convergence accounts for shallow and
deep-focused earthquakes, an oceanic trench,
and a volcanic arc above the subducted plate.

 Continent-continent

plate convergence. Rocks

are deformed, and some lithosphere thickening
occurs, but neither plate is subducted to any

Transform boundaries.
Occur where two plates
are sliding past each
other.
This produces the
vibrations that are
commonly felt as
earthquakes, such as